Romanticism In Frankenstein Research Paper

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Giving the life to the dead, was it practical? For Victor Frankenstein, a tragic hero in the novel Frankenstein, the idea of creating life with his own hands was extremely powerful. The want and need to create an entirely new life was perpetuated into his mind. Frankenstein was completed in 1817 during a time in history called the Romantic period. Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, was influenced greatly by the time period in which she lived to create Frankenstein. Romanticism was a very popular writing style to use in her time and Frankenstein represents a questessional Romantic novel. Mary Shelley uses mostly two characteristics of Romanticism that is evidently found in Frankenstein. These characteristics include the idea of the noble …show more content…
In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley’s writing is greatly influenced by the Romantic period. The characteristic of the Noble Savage is one romantic characteristic she uses predominantly throughout her novel. “Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow” (Shelley 38) . To further evaluate, this quote is taken from an earlier time in Victor’s encounter of his life. The Noble Savage is a romantic idea that involves idealised primitive man who is later altered by society. Victor begins untouched and is pure for the most part. It is not until he attends college where his professors begin to taint his mind. He provides a very feasible example of Mary Shelley’s use of a romantic characteristic. Victor becomes so altered by that of other’s ideas that he becomes mentally ill. He show violent outbursts and completely secludes himself from family which is a drastic change from the man he once was. He knows how overly invested he is in this project of his, craving to do something no one has ever done before even if it …show more content…
This characteristic is described as nature having Peaceful, restorative qualities and also containing an overwhelming amount of power. In Frankenstein, nature plays an important role on the characters; especially for Victor. “Vivid flashes of lightning dazzled my eyes, illuminating the lake, making it appear like a vast sheet of fire” (Shelley 59). In this instance, Victor is fascinated with lightning that has struck near his home. When he witnesses an oak tree obliterated by lightning, it indicated the destructive power of nature and also shows an allusion to Victor’s future use of electricity and lightning in creating his creature. The description of nature in his life drastically changes from this point and is, instead of light and happy like his childhood, seen as morbid and dark, relating to Victor’s own aura of despair following his experiments. This idea of nature impacting Victor’s life returns when he seeks redemption. “and I resolved to ascend to the summit montanvert.” (Shelley 79). In this part of the novel, Victor is still very devastated over the death of William and of innocent Justine’s death. He hopes that nature will revive his spirits and that the beauty of it can have restorative powers. Being engrossed in the beauty that surrounds him seems to calm him as Victor enjoys the sublime of
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